


For the People

by EgoDominusTuus



Series: Like Good Soldiers [12]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Ghouls, Good guy John Hancock, Hurt/Comfort, John Hancock wants MacCready, M/M, Pain, Psychic Wolves, Psychic Wolves For Lupercalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:01:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoDominusTuus/pseuds/EgoDominusTuus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By the people, for the people. That's always been my motto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the People

Even though I could hardly remember what I looked like back when I was human, Ezio still remembered my face clearly. Sometimes, he would project the image the fact that he used to know into my mind so clearly that I'd feel my heart squeeze tight. I'd turned myself ghoul to avoid mirrors - I hadn't thought about the fact that my brother would miss the face that used to be mine.

  Then again, there was a part of me that was sure he would leave me when I dosed myself up. But I'd woken, half-crazed, dehydrated, and altogether something that wasn't human... and he was dutifully by my side, staring at me with wide eyes and projecting concern so deeply that it tore into my soul.

  He hadn't left me since. I kept telling him that there was probably someone out there better than me, someone who didn't risk being killed by any racist bastard that came strolling along, but he wouldn't have any of it. He knew that there was more to me than I ever knew, and he was damned determined to make sure that I realized it.

  Everyone looked at Ezio like the second leader of Goodneighbor - no one stepped out of line while he patrolled the streets, because they knew that it would come straight back to me. That was why, when a young man in a green, torn coat entered down with a new wolf that smelled like nothing we'd ever encountered, he came straight to my office, his thoughts reaching me far before he actually spilled through the door.

  "What is it?" I spoke aloud - I always did. To me, Ezio was almost human. Our minds were so closely linked that I could have sworn he was something smarter than your average wolf. Then again, he was bigger than your average wolf. I wasn't sure where he'd come from - a red pelt and golden eyes marked him as _other_ , and even when I'd been human, people were afraid to approach us because of the intimidation factor that he provided.

  I'd always liked that about him.

   _Third Rail. Newcomer. Not from here. Lost._ The words were sharp and quick in my mind, and I frowned. I usually made it a personal preference to see all of the new people who entered Goodneighbord, and Ezio was so up in arms about the arrival that I couldn't help myself.

   It wasn't like I was doing anything, anyway, other than shooting up with some good ol' mentants and letting time coast by. I picked up my hat from my desk and brushed it off.

  "If you're so worried about it, brother, let's get going."

  Ezio waited until I'd run withered fingers along his skull, between his ears, before following me quietly down the stairs and towards the one and only bar in town.

\---

  I knew who Ezio was talking about upon first entering the bar. He sat in the corner, nursing a drink that he wasn’t really drinking at all while staring down at a bitch wolf who seemed ready to pop with pups.

  I stayed still, staring for a moment, though in the back of my mind, I registered that the people were calling out to me, sending their greetings and how-do's... but I was focused on the man. Soft blonde hair spilled from underneath his cap, and his shoulders were rounded in pain and defeat, and a few emotions that I couldn't begin to unwind from a distance.

  He looked like he needed help. He looked like he needed a friend.

  My feet carried me forward before I realized what I was doing. I paused behind him, unsure of how he would react to a ghoul suddenly approaching him - there were people who seemed to have all the qualms in the world with me and my kind, even though I was unlike any other ghoul that I'd met before. With a small frown, and an unwillingness to upset him until I got a read on him, I took a table beside him, carefully turning my back so that I could lean in and listen for a bit.

   _Go now._  Ezio's voice was a low whine, and I think that he was sensing the distress rolling off of the man's bitch - and hell, she was a pretty thing. All rad green eyes and darkness... but I still wasn't sure. You wouldn't know it from talking to me, but I often times found myself at a loss for what to say when I was faced with people who judged me by my appearance. I'd taken the drug to escape my face, to escape the man in the mirror... and I'd never once thought of the consequences that it would leave me with, as far as relations went.

  Sometimes, I had a feeling that Ezio was the only one who would ever really accept me fully for who and what I was, regardless of whether I felt like I deserved that acceptance or not.

   _Go now_. Ezio's voice in my head was insistent, and I let out a small chuckle.

  "Really, you act like you're the mayor around here sometimes." My voice was a mutter that drew the attention of a few people sitting at the table beside me. Of course, anyone who was an actual resident of the town was used to my silent, one-sided conversations.

  In front of me, I heard the man speaking - asking about medication, about illness... about things that I hadn't heard a damn thing about. He sounded distraught, and there was something hollow in his voice that told me he had more problems than what he was letting out. I didn't know if I could help him at all. Instead, I let my dark eyes flick around the room.

  In my head, Ezio projected the image of who I used to be again. Yeah, that man could have approached him, all blonde hair and a big smile, handsome as I was back then. He could have offered to help.

  But I wasn't that man anymore. The least that I could do was make sure that he had a safe stay here in Goodneighbor. Maybe when I heard a bit more about him from our local residents, I’d see what I could do.

  After a few more moments of sitting there and twisting in indecision, I realized that the emotions weren’t really my own. Ezio was shifting with a low whine beside me, his golden eyes flicking to the bitch wolf occasionally. _So much pain. Can’t trust._ He seemed to be picking up something, whether it was through weird wolf shit, or simply body language…

   _Help?_

“Of course, I will.” I was, after all, by the people, for the people. And it looked like this person was just another one who needed a safe place to stay.

  I pushed myself from my skulking corner and quickly slipped into the empty stool beside the young man - he didn’t look old enough to carry the weight that was in his blue hues. What he did look was lost, alone, and more handsome than he had a right to in a town like this. I raised my hand, calling for another drink.

  “You look like you’re having a time of it.” My voice, rumbling but soft, I’ve been told can be quite soothing. He looked up with wary, cautious eyes, and I saw him trying to process who I was, why I had approached him… and what I wanted. Instead of letting him get out those questions, I gave him a smile. “Listen, kid, here in Goodneighbor, we don’t ask, and you don’t have to tell. But we do take care of our own. By the people, for the people.” He was staring at me, and the caution was still blatant in his eyes. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you look like you might need a place to stay for a while. I’ll let the boys at Hotel Rexford know to comp you a room, if you decide you need to duck your head for a bit.” I didn’t know if he was going to talk to me at all, and it didn’t matter. I was doing what I could. “And if you decide that you _do_ want to talk, it’s easy to find me.” I gave him a wink, “Mayor Hancock, I run this town.”

  Whitechapel Charlie showed up, sliding my drink into place in front of me. My fingers pushed it to the left, in front of the boy. “You’re safe here, kid. The Mayor’s got your back.” He looked like he needed a friendly face. It was all that I could do - but maybe he’d mull it over… and maybe I’d see him up in my office, ready to get some of the weight off of his shoulders. I was good at handling problems, after all.

   I stood to leave, and I heard him speak out. Soft, accompanied by the whimper of his wolf. “Thanks.” That was all - soft, unsure. He seemed scared to death or even more jaded than I was… and I couldn’t tell which. So it was just a _thanks…_

  But that was enough, really. If he was still here come morning, I’d check in on him. See what I could do.

   _What we can do._ Ezio’s voice was soft in my head, and I let my fingers stroke once more between his ears as I made my way out of the Third Rail, the boys blue eyes bright and blazen in my mind.  


End file.
